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Cultural World Heritage Sites in China
1. The Great Wall of China
Location: Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu
The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from Xiongnu attacks during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC. The first was the wall built between 220 to 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; little of it remains; it was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty.
The Great Wall stretches over approximately 4,000 miles from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 4,160 miles in total. At its peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall. (More....)
2. Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing ( the Forbidden City )
Location: Beijing
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.
Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 720,000 square metres (7,800,000 square feet). The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture,and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.
Since 1924, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artefacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the same institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War. ( More....)
3. Imperial Tombs of of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
Location: Beijing
The Ming Dynasty Tombs are located some 50 kilometers due north of urban Beijing at a specially selected site. The site was chosen by the third Ming Dynasty emperor Yongle (1402 - 1424), who moved the capital of China from Nanjing to the present location of northwest Beijing. The Ming tombs of the 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty were located on the southern slope of Mount Taishou (originally Mount Huangtu). He is credited with envisioning the layout of the ancient city of Beijing as well as a number of landmarks and monuments located therein. After the construction of the Imperial Palace (the Forbidden City) in 1420, the Yongle Emperor selected his burial site and created his own mausoleum.
From the Yongle Emperor onwards, 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors were buried in this area. The tombs of the first two Ming Emperors are located near Nanjing (the capital city during their reigns). Emperor Jingtai was also not buried here, as the Emperor Tianshun had denied Jingtai an imperial burial, but was instead buried west of Beijing. The last Chongzhen Emperor, who hanged himself in April 1644, named Si Ling by the Qing emperor, was the last to be buried here, but on a much smaller scale than his predecessors.
During the Ming dynasty the tombs were off limits to commoners, but in 1644 Li Zicheng's army ransacked and set many of the tombs on fire before advancing and capturing Beijing in April of that year.( More.... )
4.Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
Location: Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province
The tomb of Qin Shi Huang is located in the eastern suburbs of Lintong County, 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Xian: on the Lishan Mountain in the south and overlooking the Wei River towards north. The lay of the land from Lishan to Mount Hua is shaped dragon-like according to traditional Chinese geomancy. The imperial tomb is at the eye of the dragon. The emperor had chosen well. ( More...)
The Terracotta Army are the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang the First Emperor of China. The terracotta figures, dating from 210 BC, were discovered in 1974 by several local farmers near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China near the Mausouleum of the First Qin Emperor. . The figures vary in height (183-195cm, 6ft-6ft 5in), according to their role, the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits.( More....)
Location: Suzhou, Jiangsu Province
Suzhou is a famous city throughout China for its gardens. Historically a wealthy city, due in part for its large silk industry, many of its residents built classical gardens that are preserved and open to the public today. Nine of the gardens are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Sight list.
Suzhou gardens differ from the imperial parks in like the Summer Palace in a single essential: they were built for the enjoyment of a private family. They are intimate and simple compared to the grandeur of the gardens for the imperial family.
The gardens were meant to be lived in and were adjacent to family houses and compounds. Owners invited guests and extended family for special parties, such as moon-viewing during the Moon Festival. While small, the gardens are designed so that a visitor receives a new perspective at every turn-a pavilion surrounded by lotus becomes apparent where before it was hidden.(More....)
6. Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui--Xidi and Hongcun
Location: Yixian county, Anhui province ( near Mountain Huangshan)
The two traditional villages of Xidi and Hongcun preserve to a remarkable extent the appearance of non-urban settlements of a type that largely disappeared or was transformed during the last century. Their street plan, their architecture and decoration, and the integration of houses with comprehensive water systems are unique surviving examples.
Xidi is a village in southern Anhui province (Yixian County), in China, which was declared a part of the "Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui" World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000, along with the village of Hongcun. It was first built during the reign of emperor Huangyou during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) and was originally called Xichuan (West River), because of the water courses which flow through the village. (More....)
Hongcun is a village in Yixian county, Anhui province (Yixian County), located near the southwest slope of Mount Huangshan, in China. The village is arranged in the shape of an ox: A nearby hill (Leigang Hill) is interpreted as the head, and two trees standing on it mark the horns. Four bridges across the Jiyin stream can be seen as the legs and the houses of the village form the body. Inside the "body", the Jiyin stream can be seen as the intestines and the lakes--such as the "South Lake" (Nanhu)-- as the stomachs. (More....)
